Please don't shoot me because I'm an idiot.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

Okay, here goes.

I have a PC that runs W2000pro & a laptop that runs XP. I have DSL w/wireless. The PC is hooked up to DSL & the laptop is wireless. The PC is twice as powerful as the laptop. Bigger hard drive & way more RAM. I can watch the youtube clips on the laptop, but on my PC they skip & stall & take forever to load.

Both the PC & the laptop have the latest Flash installed.

Both use Firefox, ZoneAlarmPro, Spyware Blaster & Ad-Aware so it can't be one of those that's hanging it up.

Any ideas? If it's my video card (I have Nvidia, but no idea which version) what does it take to upgrade?

best & TIA.

[RC]

1. Have you looked at Task Manager?

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

2. What would I look at?

I mean, I can look at task manager, but what should I be watching for?

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

5. Okay. On my PC when I'm trying to watch a video, the

CPU is running at about 99. I shut down my laptop so I'll have to look at it tomorrow.

[Duer 157099]

3. See if you can find out what video cards are in each

Go to Control Panel/System/Devices (or Hardware) - Display Adapter properties -- it might be the video card -- have you updated the drivers for the PC's video card lately?

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

4. Window 2000pro doesn't have that.

I've got administrative tools & a bunch of shit in there. Or, I've got hardware signing thingy in C/properties..

No, I've never updated the drivers. I can't figure out what I've got other than nvidia. And before I was on dial up & downloading anything took so long I coulda given myself a manicure waiting.

[Duer 157099]

6. Try this

Right-click My Computer and choose Manage to open the local MMC Computer Management console. Select the Device Manager object under Computer Management, System Tools
or

Right-click My Computer, and choose Properties to open the System Properties dialog box. Move to the Hardware tab, and click Device Manager to open Device Manager

let me know if that gets you there...

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

9. I got there.

I've got a bunch of stuff, but could this be it?

Nvidia (R) nForce (TM) MCP Audio Procesing Unit (Dolby (R) Digital.

[Duer 157099]

12. No, you want to find something under "Display Adapter"

or something like that

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

13. I found this:

Item Value
Name NVIDIA GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU
PNP Device ID PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_01F0&SUBSYS_05311297&REV_A3\4&1B197270&0&00F0
Adapter Type GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU, NVIDIA compatible
Adapter Description NVIDIA GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU
Adapter RAM 32.00 MB (33,554,432 bytes)
Installed Drivers nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version 6.14.10.5216
INF File oem17.inf (nv4_Crush11 section)
Color Planes 1
Color Table Entries 4294967296
Resolution 1024 x 768 x 75 hertz
Bits/Pixel 32

[Duer 157099]

14. Try updating the driver

http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_93.71_2.html

See if that helps.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

15. That's where I get confused. I've gone to their site

& there are so many drivers & so many products. I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for. :shrug:

Maybe I should just buy a new video card or whatever it is.

[Duer 157099]

16. Oh -- the link I put takes you directly to the download for your card

go back and see if you can just download right from that page

btw: it looks like this isn't a "card" per se, but rather integrated onto your motherboard -- if you look at the back of your computer where the monitor plugs in, is it near the top where the onboard stuff is (audio, ethernet, etc) or down at the bottom where the expansion cards go?

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

17. The cords are att the top.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I didn't even look at the link because I just assumed that it was to their home page.

I am off to get a new driver.

One more stupid question; if it doesn't work what do I do? Not if it doesn't work & doesn't help play videos; that I wouldn't worry about. Certainly I wouldn't be any worse off than I am now. No, I mean if it doesn't work & my screen goes blank. :scared: I have to mod. Oh wait. I've got my laptop & I'll just work from that until you can walk me through uninstalling it.

Thank you again.

best

[Duer 157099]

18. If it were me, and I were in WinXP, I would set a restore point first

I don't know if there's a comparable function in Win2k, but if there is, you should do that first. If not, and you're really concerned, make a regular backup (just in case) or a ghost image, if you know how. Something that would enable you to go back to the configuration that you had just prior to updating the driver.

However, if you're adventurous, just go ahead and install the new driver and cross your fingers :D

More than likely it will work, but knowing Windows, ... well, anything can happen. I'm not familiar enough with Win2k to predict what might happen, but I've had my share of stupid driver problems in Win98se, even when installing what's supposed the be the "correct" driver -- but... that's with an actual video card, as in the expansion slot, and sometimes those kinds of video cards have issues playing well with the motherboard chips -- so it's a more delicate issue. Since your video is onbaord, integrated into the motherboard and plays well with the other chipsets onboard, you *probably* won't have problems. But then again... this is Windows we're talking about, so....

Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

[Duer 157099]

19. Oh, here's one tip I found on that page

"Do not run virus protection software in the background while installing the drivers. This prevents the driver from configuring itself properly."

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

20. I installed the new drivers. It didn't help play youtube, but

the colors are a bit sharper so that's nice.

Thank you for your help though. I at least updated some drivers which I haven't done in ages. And I learned a bit more about finding info on my computer. That's a good thing.

:yourock:

[canetoad]

7. i'd be checking my browser cache

You can embiggen it with Firefox, dont know about IE

By default, it's set to a riduculously small size - 5 megs or so. Try setting it (assuming you have plenty of drive space) to around 30 or 50meg and see how you go.

I've got a fast cable connection and still some youtube vids play very slowly. I pause them, make a coffee or roll a joint and let them buffer, then i can watch them interruptedly. Sometimes shit just happens.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

10. It's set at 500 MB.

[Steerpike]

8. Interesting problem.

Have you defragged or maximized your ram lately.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

11. I did a system error check & degrag the other day.

I could always do it again though.

Haven't a clue now I maximize my ram. Do you mean buy more?